Super League gears up for dramatic finale in final games before play-offs

Their plight, a struggle against the pressure of expectation of relegation, is at odds with the party they are trying to avoid getting into trouble with.

Hull FC were given A-status in the indicative 2024 ratings, and that safety net coincided with a season of seriously underperforming performances.

They have wasted little time in recruiting for 2025, with a large number of players committed. But in the meantime, the 2024 campaign has been stalled and the season has been watered down as several players they imported for the season have left due to disappointing results.

Interim coach Simon Grix was forced to place young, promising players in a difficult losing environment and to guide the squad through the matches with upcoming players.

“There’s so much context to how we’ve gone this season,” Grix told BBC Radio Humberside ahead of last weekend’s game against Salford. “The team we were looking at in round one against Hull KR at home is completely different now.

“A lot happened during that time, it was challenging. It was a tough year.”

While Hull FC may be given the chance to take stock and re-establish themselves as a Super League club in the off-season despite this low point in the campaign, that is not an option for London at this stage.

Eccles, who himself comes from the heart of rugby league but is a strong advocate of London’s presence given his time there, wants IMG to look at the capital, previously identified as a key growth area, with a different eye.

“I’m very happy to be associated with this. You have to treat London differently, there has to be an exception,” he told Love Rugby League., external

“It’s a different world here. We cut our clothes accordingly, we produce players who are equal to the best academies in the game and we have a home where we can build. Things are different here.”